He who didn't have the power to love
by PurpleDragonFlower
Summary: This is the story of one young Tom Riddle, about the time before he turned into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.


He who didn't have the power to love

This is the story of Tom Marvolo Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. This is the story of the unknown time right before the orphan boy turned into a feared man.

Tom Riddle was a very handsome boy. Even though the poor child had grown up at a muggle orphanage with no money and barely any education, the minute he sat foot at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the teachers knew he was something special. They immediately fell for his charming ways. He proved great skill in magic and was not only top of his class, but a prefect and Head Boy as well.

During his fifth year he even caught the heir of Slytherin and was awarded for rescuing the whole school from the horrible monster hidden within the chamber. No one suspected that the real heir, who had made the basilisk kill an innocent muggleborn girl, was really Tom himself. No one except maybe Dumbledore, that is. Nobody really knew much about Tom Riddle, they only knew what they could see with their bare eyes - a brilliant young man with beautiful bone structure. And what was wrong with that?

Tom made himself some friends at Hogwarts, although friends might not be the right word. They were a group of boys who had gotten the privilege to walk in his shadow, as long as they followed under his command. One could get the impression that these boys were scared of Tom, if not, they had huge respect for him to say the least. They rarely looked him in the eyes and would never speak up in his presence. The teachers of Hogwarts chose to ignore this fact. They were determined not to think anything bad of their favourite model student.

It wasn't until his seventh and final year at the school that Tom was seen with a girl by his side. She too was a Slytherin in her seventh year and her name was Cassandra Pinewood. She was a tall, elegant girl with hair the colour of mahogany. It was not a surprise that Tom and Cassandra would soon become girlfriend and boyfriend. They looked absolutely perfect for each other. What no one knew was that Tom Riddle didn't have, never had and never would have the power to love.

He saw the beauty in Cassandra's face, he felt the warm touch of her hand and tried to make himself feel something more. Something within. But there was nothing. He thought to himself that if he'd never known love before, how did he know this wasn't it? Tom put his hand on Cassandra's waist and looked into her dark green eyes. He imagined her face spattered with blood, pale and dead. Still nothing. A world without Cassandra seemed to Tom no different from a world with her. The thought of seeing her dead, or even brutally murdered didn't bother him even the slightest. The frustration seemed to have read on to his face, because Cassandra said:

"What's bothering you, love?" he voice was as soft as her hair. Tom relaxed his forehead.

"Nothing, darling", he said and pressed his lips gently against hers. She closed her eyes and deepened the kiss.

Even though he couldn't feel true love, Tom was still a human being and could had no problem feeling lust for a beautiful young woman like Cassandra. He let his hand run down her back, pressing her body closer to his.

It was a warm summer night, shortly after the end of school. Tom and Cassandra sat together on a deserted cliff by the beach. Cassandra was playing with Tom's hand in her lap, studying the black stone he wore on a ring on his finger.

"That's a funny symbol", she mumbled, brushing it with her finger. She turned to look at Tom. "Where did you get this ring, Tom?" she asked.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Got it from my family house."

"Oh", said Cassandra, looking out over the sea again. "I thought you didn't have a family home. You're an orphan?"

Tom didn't answer.

"You grew up at a muggle orphanage, isn't that right?" Cassandra said, persistently. "Tom?"

Tom cringed.

"Don't call me that", he muttered, "stupid muggle name."

Cassandra gave him a questioning look with a raised eyebrow.

"What should I call you then?" she asked. Tom caught her eyes, a small smirk playing over his lips.

"My friends call me Lord Voldemort", he said. Cassandra just looked at him for a while, and then to his great anger, she laughed.

"For real?" she said in disbelief. Tom frowned at her.

"Yes", he said. She laughed again.

"Lord Voldemort!" she exclaimed, her voice echoed between the stone walls around them. Tom felt rage rising within him. Cassandra saw his enraged face, bit her lip to hold back her grin and said:

"Tom, that's a silly name!"

Tom clenched his teeth.

"And why is that?" he hissed. Cassandra didn't pick up on the threatening tone in his voice. Maybe if she had, she could've been saved.

"_Voldemort", _she said, "where would you get that? It sounds absolutely ..." she looked around for the right word, "just silly!" she said with a shrug. "And _Lord_? Why would anyone call you that? There are no wizard lords. You can't be serious, Tom."

"DON'T call me that!" Tom bellowed. For the first time Cassandra was startled.

"Tom...?" she said weakly, "Why are you so mad?"

His hand suddenly flew to her neck and he grabbed her by the collar. Cassandra tried to move backwards, fear in her eyes.

"Are you deaf?" snarled Tom, "I told you not to call me that!"

There was a mad sort of fire in his eyes that Cassandra had never seen before. For a second she could swear they flickered in red.

"You're hurting me", she said and winced. His expression didn't change. He let go of her collar and reached for his wand instead.

She didn't know what he was doing until it was too late. In a last desperate attempt to feel something for the poor girl in front of him, Tom Riddle raised his wand and said:

"Avada Kedavra!"

Cassandra Pinewood fell back with a soft thud, dead before her head hit the ground.

He had hoped to feel something to prove his love. Just anything. Horror, remorse, sadness, pain ... But there was nothing. Just like when he had killed his own family, Tom only felt one thing, the feeling of power and the hunger for more. He got to his feet and stared down at Cassandra's lifeless body, her unseeing eyes staring up at the sky. Tom fingered on the big black stone on his ring and a cold smile spread across his lips.

There would come a time, he thought, when people would fear the sound of his name. There would come a time when Lord Voldemort was the most powerful wizard that ever lived. There would come a time when he was the master of death himself. Lord Voldemort turned around and left Tom Riddle behind him, forever, along with the girl he never loved.

_**A/N: Just a short one-shot I felt like writing:) Like it? Don't like it? Review? ;)**_


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